Sausage stuffing machine



April 17, 1945. c. T. WALTER SAUSAGE STUFFING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2'7,1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR BY fl/ ATTORNEY April l7, 1945. c, TWALTER 2,373,865

SAUSAGE STUFFING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2'7, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 (barks Zzl dlff & INYENTOR V M m BY fizz? ATTORNEY April 1945- c. T. WALTERSAUSAGE STUFFING MACHINE Filed Aug. 27, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 it i him(Zarie Z Miter INVENTOR ATTO R N EY A ril 17, 1945. c. T. WALTER SAUSAGESTUFFING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2'7, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 fbdi'iesz'Zidlter INVENTORY BY ATTORNEY April 17, 1945. c. T. WALTER 2,373,865

SAUSAGE STUFFING MACHINE Filed Aug. 27, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 fig [/22[/25 [124 H57 C/zarles Z Walter 77L INVENTOR @WM BY MW v ATTORNEYPatented Apr. 17, i945 ssussonsrorrmc menial:

Charles T. Walter, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Industrial PatentsCorporation, Chicago, Ill., a

corporation of Delaware Application August 27, 1940, Serial No 354,384

, pending upon the size and style of the stuffer 16 Claims.

This invention relates to a sausage stui'iing machine or like device. 4

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved sausagestufling device for continuous operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method by whichsausage meat and like material may be stufied into casings, cans, orother containers continuously and without the necessity of periodicallyshutting down the sensage stuiier in order to load it with product to bestuffed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device by meansof which viscous material may be extruded continuously at a uniformpressure and without the necessity of stopping operations in order tofill the device with material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for thecontinuous expressing of granular or viscous material under a large anduniform ressure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved gear typepressure pump for subjecting granular or viscous material toconsiderable pressure.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a gear pump withclosely fitting, coarse, gear teeth and means whereby non-compressiblematerial can be efllciently removed from the intermeshing gear teeth.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description andclaims which follow.-

One of the crying needs of the meat packing industry for many years hasbeen a sausage stuning machine suitable for the continuous stufling ofsausage and like products. The present type of stufier comprises a largecylinder placed up right upon the floor and with the stuillng nozzlesextending from the side adjacent the top edge,

at a. height slightly above thestufiing table; a top firmly held on thecylinder by anumber of heavy bolts; and a heavy, tight-fitting pistonworking in the cylinder upwardly from'the bottom. In filling such astufier; the piston is retracted to the bottom of the cylinder, and thetop I is unbolted and removed, usually by pivoting out of the way. Theoperator shovels comminuted meat from a meat truck into the top of theempty cylider until it is full. The head is replaced and tightly bolted,and the operator can then begin the stufling operation. After the chargeplaced in the cylinder has been removed through the stuifing operation,the'loading process must be repeated.

In the use of the sausage stufiers heretofor known, the operator mayspend as much as half of his working time in loadingthe comminuted meatand the size ofthe individual pieces of sausage being stuffed. Theworking pressure of the average sausage stufi'er is approximately eightypounds per square inch so thatthe removable cover of the known stuifersmust be made of heavy material and attached by heavy fastening means. Ittherefore takes considerable time and strength to remove the cover fromthe ordinary sausage stuil'er, load the stuffer with comminuted meat andreplace the cover ready to start the stufling operation. The tendencyis, therefore; to use stufiers as large as possible in order to lessenthe portion of time spent in loading the stuffers. Necessarily, thelarger the stutter the larger and heavier must be the various parts.This results in machines with parts so heavy that cleaning is a veryimportant problem. For example, in the ordinary large stufier the pistonin the cylinder is so heavy and fits so tightly that it can be removedand replaced only with the labor of several men anduse of power- I iulhoists.

Several attempts have been made to provide a continuous sausage stumngmachine. Heretoiore all such machines have been unsatisfactory. Themadority of such machines have used the feed screw type of device inwhich the feed screw builds up the necessary pressure. This isimpractical because the pressures so secured are not sufliciently largeto be satisfactory in the same. sage stufling operation. Eilicientoperation of a sausage stumng machine requires pressures ofapproximately eighty pounds per square inch. Long before such pressuresare secured by means of this type of device, the pressure pushes thematerial, no matter how viscous it may be, backwards around the screw.Also, the screw must fit tightly in its cylinder, which tends to crushand pressthe sausage material, which, it is believed, has a deleteriouseffect upon the quality of the sausage. The use of this type of acontinuous sausage stufier, therefore, is unsatisfactory anddisadvantageous because, primarily, suflicient' operating pressurecannot be secured, and alsobecause of the detrimental effects it hasupon the resulting product.

A gear pressure pump has also been suggested,

but thishas proven unsatisfactory because so satisfactorily and stillnot break the casings,-

which are rather delicate. For this reason,'fluctusting pressures arevery unsatisfactory.

The present invention overcomes the defects of into the sausagestufl'er; the portion so spent deprior devices, and provides acontinuous sausage stufilng device which can intermittently be loadedwith sausage or like material without in any way interfering with thestumng operation. It permits the operator, known as the stuffer," towork steadily on stuiling the sausage into the container. Incidentally,the present invention is quite simple and is little more.,..expensivethan. the ordinary good stuillng machine. A further advantage of thepresent invention is that the parts are light so that the machine caneasily be taken apart for cleaning.

Briefly, the sausage stuffer of the present invention provides a meansfor constantly exerting a relatively low pressure upon the comminutedmeat, 9. means for increasing the pressure thereon to one slightly abovea predetermined operating pressure, and means for maintaining theproduct under a substantially con-' stant operating pressure. The threeprincipal elements of such a device are (1) a feed screw operatingwithin a hopper to exert a relatively small pressure upon the comminutedmeat in order to force it into (2) a gear pressure pump. which buildsthe Pressure up to a point slightly above the desired operatingpressure, and (3) a pressure equalization chamber equipped with a'piston upon which is exerted a constant pressure from an outside source,and thereby permits the discharge of the sausage material at a constantoperating pressure. These three elements are necessary in order topermit the stuffing operation to take place at a constantly uniformdesired operating pressure.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a hopper,one surface of which terminates in a truncated cone. Operating withinthe hopper and cone is a large, long-pitch screw which forceaibly feedsthe product toward the apex of the cone. The product is forced by thefeed screw through the cone and into a pressure pump of the gear typewhich increases the pressure from approximately one pound per squareinch to slightly in excess of the desired operating pressure, whichordinarily is approximately eighty pounds per square inch.

Preferably the teeth of the pressure pump gears will be of a relativelylarge pitch so. that the interstices between the teeth will readily befilled. with the viscous sausage material and in order to avoid, as muchas possible,

crushing the meat tissue. The product is discharged from the pressurepump into a receiving chamber or cylinder which contains a piston whichis operated by any suitable means, such as pneumatic pressure, tomaintain the contents of the cylinder at the constant operating pressuredesired. The piston is equipped with limit switches so that themechanism feeding meat to the cylinder will be actuated to maintain aworking supply in the cylinder at all times, the

switches being effective to initiate or stop the feed in accordance withthe supply of product in the cylinder. Attached to the cylinder are thestuffing nozzles so that the ground meat can be discharged therefromcontinuously at the desired operating pressures.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and inwhich like reference characters in the several figures designate similarelements.

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the stuffer shown in Figure 1.

aavasos Figure 3 is a side view, partly in cross section, of the sausagestufler shown in Figure 1 taken along the vertical plane shown by theline 3-4 of Figure l and A-A of Figure 6.

Figure 4 is a front end view of the stuifer shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a rear end view of the stuifer shown in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a cross-section view of the gear pump and stufling cylindersalong the plane designated by the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure I is a cross-section view of the gear pump identical with Figure6, except that the gears have been removed.

Figure 8 is an enlarged side view of the meshed gears shown in Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a plan view in cross-section of the gear pump and housingwith the upper gear removed.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the wiring and control switch forthe stuifer shown in Figure 1.

The present invention comprises a hopper i which is supported on asuitable base 2 and is "erably provided with a top opening 4 wide enoughto permit the insertion of the front edge of the usual packing housemeat truck as shown in broken lines in Figure 4. As shown in Figures 2,3, 4 and 6, one surface of'the hopper, such as 5, is provided with acircular opening 8 to which is aflixed a truncated cone 1 coaxiallyaligned with the semi-circular bottom 3. The truncated cone ispreferably provided with reinforcing ribs 8 and I in order to strengthenthat portion of the apparatus against the pressures to which the cone issubjected. The cone I may be constructed from two or more sections, suchas Ill and II attached to the reinforcing ribs I and s by wing nuts I!and suitable bolts in order to facilitate the daily cleaning of thedevice.

As best shown in Figure 3, the top opening 4 is reinforced by suitablemeans, such as angle irons I3. The side H opposite the truncated cone isprovided with bearing block I! and with reinforcing ribs to strengthenthat side against the pressure exerted thereon.

Still referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that cooperating within thesemicircular bottom 3 of the hopper I and the cone 1 is a long-pitchfeed screw or worm l1, fitting rather loosely within the semi-circularbottom 3 of the hopper i and tapered to operate within the cone 1. Thefeed screw need not fit snugly within the hopper and cone as a looselyfitting screw is sufficient to push the material ahead with a slightpressure. The feed worm is welded, or otherwise rigidly ailixed, to anaxle ll, as at ll. One end of axle II is carried in suitable bearings 20located in bearing block II, and extends outside of the side wall I I,as at 2 I. Non-rotatably aflixed to this outwardly extending portion 2|of the shaft, as by a key 22 (shown in Figure 5) is sprocket wheel 23.The machine is driven by any suitable source of power. such as motor 24connected to speed reducer 25. A sprocket 26 is keyed, as by key 21, tothe axle II of speed reducer 26. A chain 29 connects the sprocket 26 tosprocket 23 on shaft is.

Referring now to Figure 3, it will be seen that the other end 30 of theshaft II, which is adjacent to the extreme end of the cone I, isprovided with a square or other suitable driving cup asvaees 2| adaptedto cooperate with the driving gear of the gear pump hereafter to bedescribed.

A cover52, as shown in Figures 1, 4, or 5, is "hinged as at 55 stoneside 54 of the opening 4 of hopper I and is provided with a rubber oring the usual meat truck so that the material therein can readily bedumped into the hopper I. The truck dumper is best shown in Figures 1and 5. BriefLv, it comprises a base 51 properly strengthened, as bybraces 25, and firmly attached to the base 2 of the hopper, as at 55. Ashaft 45 parallel to side 55 of the hopper and adjacent thereto isjournaled in bearings 4I affixed to cross pieces 42, supported by thebase 51' at a height approximately equal to the height of the ordinarysausage truck 45 (Figure4). Arms 44 and 45 are non-rotatably mounted onshaft 45, perpendicular to the shaft and wide enough apart to permit themeat truck 45 to fit between them.

other suitable gasket, such as 55, to provide a vac- Referring now toFigures 1, 2 or 3. it will be seen that attached to the open end 55 ofcone I by any suitable means, such as clamp screws II, is a gear pump52. The pump 52 is supported by any suitable means on base 2, as bychannels 55. The gear pump 52 can be of any suitable con; struction, butI prefer one which can be driven from the axle I5 and which is readilytaken apart and the gears easily removed for cleaning. *For The detailsof the preferred construction of the arms are shown in Figure 2. Iprefer that the the flanges 55 '(Figure'i) to pass thereover when thetruck is run between the two arms. It should also be noted that thedistance between the two channels is just sufllcient to permit the bodyof the truck to fit snugly between them, as the truck 45 is lifted byits'flanges which fit over the channels 45 and 45'. A short distanceabove the channels 45 and 45, and parallel thereto, are guides 5I and52, respectively, also firmly attached to the arms 45 and 41, asbywelding. The distance between the guides and channels should besufficient to permit the flange 55 to pass between them. The guides arenecessary to keep thetruck from falling out of the arms when in a raisedposition. I also prefer to brace the free ends of the arms by a crosspiece 53.

The operation of the truck dumper is most readily shown by referring toFigure 5. A large diameter gear segment 54 is non-rotatably mounted onone end of shaft 45. In view of the fact that the meat trucks are loadedwith several hundred pounds of material, I prefer that the gear segmentbe provided with a plurality of counterweights 55. The motive power forthe dumper is furnished by a small motor 55 mounted on the base 2,connected to a speed reducer 51 (Figure 2), to which is aflixed a gearwheel 55 meshing with the teeth of the gear segment 54.

The operation of the dumper is readily apparent. The truck 45is pushedbetween the arms 44 and 45, the motor 55 is started, which causes therotation of the gear segment 54 and the arms 44 and 45. By this meansthe truck is up-ended over the opening 4 of the hopper I.

The hopper I is also provided with an airline 55, Fig. 1 and Fig. 5,provided with a three-way valve, not shown. The valve connects with theouter atmosphere and also with a vacuum pump, not shown, so that air canbe exhausted from the hopper or permitted to enter the hopper at -thediscretion of the operator. I prefer that the airline 55 terminate abovethe top of the hopper I, as shown in Figure 5, so as to avoid danger ofits becoming clogged by meat falling into it.

this purpou I prefer one such as shown in Figures 3 and 6, which isencased in a housing 54 surrounding the gears 55 and 55. The side of theblock adjacent to the open end of the cone I is provided with. asuitably large opening or inlet 51, best shown in Figure 7, whereby theground meat may be pushed by the feed screw II into the intake or lowpressure side 55 of the gear pump 52.

.As shown in Figure 3, the wall 55 opposite this inlet 51 is providedwith a relatively large circular opening III which is closed by thecover plate II formed in the shape of a large diameter hollow bearingI2. The cover plate -II is amxed to the housing 54 by any suitablemeans, such as bolts I5. The driving gear 55 of the gear pump 52 isadapted to fit around the bearing I2 and is also provided with a drivinglug I4 adapted to fit snugly into the driving cup II of axle I5.

The driven gear 55 of the gear pump 52 is likewise adapted to rotatearound a large hollow bearing I5 which may be removed through opening I5in wall 11 of the housing 54 and is held in place by cover plate I5amxed to the housing 54 by any suitable means, such as nuts I5. Thebearing I5 may either be integral with the cover plate 15, as is thecase ofthe bearing 12 for the driving gear, or may be in separate parts,as shown and described, and attached one to another by bolts 55. Iprefer the use of hollow, large diameter bearings I2 and I5 and gears 55and 55 of correspondingly large internal'diameter in order to securerelatively light, easily handied parts of great strength.

Preferably the gears 55 and 55 have gear teeth 5i ofvery coarse pitch,as shown in Figures 6 and 8, to permit the interstices between the teethto be readily filled with coarse and viscous material. Likewise, it ispreferable to have the opening 51 from the cone I into the pressure pump52 of large, size, as shown in Figure 7, so that such coarse-and viscousmaterial may readily be pushed into the pressure pump by the relativelyslight pressure of the feed screw.

As best shown in Figure 6, the housing 54 is provided with at least tworecesses 52 and 55, one for each gear, in which can be insertedremovable pressure sealing shoes 54 and 55, respectively, to preventmaterial from pushing from the high pressure, discharge side 55 back tothe low pressure intake side 58 of the pump. The construction hereindescribed permits the use of relatively lightweight gears with a coarsepitch which can readily be removed from the pump 52 by theloosening of afew bolts, such as I3 and 15, (Figure 3) and the removal of thelarge-diameter, hollow bearings I2 and I5. In this manner the gear pumpcan be readily taken apart and cleaned withoutexcessive labor or time.The outlet 51 of gear pump 52 is attached by any suitable means such asbolts 55 to the upper end of a meat or pressure equalization cylinder55. The cyliner 55 serves as a reservoir to temporarily store the meatunder a uniform stuffing pressure until it is permitted to pass from thecylinder to the containers being stuifed. The meat cylinder 89 isprovided with a dome-shaped cover. such as 96. Preferably, the cover 20is pivotally mounted as on bolt i (Figure 1) and held in place by otherbolts such as 92 and 03. Within the upper portion of the dome cover 90are threaded female openings 96 and 95, adapted to hold pipes 00 and 91respectively, at the free ends of which are attached stumng nozzles 08and 00, respectively. The pipes 93 and 91 are also provided with valvesI60 and MI, operated by hand levers I02 and III to control the flow ofsausage meat into their respective nozzles.

As shown in Figure 6, pressure equalization cylinder 89 is provided witha tightly fitting domeshaped piston I06, provided with a tail rod I05which extends into air pressure cylinder I I06 closed at both ends,coaxially aligned with and adjacent to the open end of meat cylinder 89,and attached thereto by any suitable means, as by bolts I01. Attached tothe outer end of tail rod I 05 and within air pressure cylinder I 00 ispiston I08. Referring briefly to Figure 4 it will be seen that both endsof air cylinder I00 are connected as by pipes I09 and H0 to a source ofair pressure, as pipe III, by means of a four-way valve H2 whereby airpressure may be exerted either way upon the piston I00. It is verydesirable that airline I ll be provided with a pressure reducing valve,not shown, so that a constant pressure may be exerted upon piston I 00at all times. Preferably the air pressure will be approximately eightypounds per square inch, as that is the usual pressure under whichsausage is stuffed.

Intermediate the ends of tail rod I05 is a collar H3. In spacedrelationship to said tail rod I0! is a lever H0 operating a mercuryswitch hereinafter described. The lever I I8 is non-rotatably mounted ona shaft H5, with which it oscillates. and the shaft I I5 is caused tooscillate as the collar II3 engages lever lid as the former moves withthe tail rod I05. The switch controlled by lever I I4 controls theoperation of the main driving motor, 26, so that when the lever isthrown to the o position by collar II3 the feed screw and pressure pumpare stopped, and when the switch is thrown to the "on position bymovement of the collar H3, both are set in motion.

The size and location of the meat cylinder and the air cylinder arepreferably such that the cylinder 89, cover so, and piston I M,heretofore described. can be easily and readily cleaned. This isaccomplished by properly spacing the meat cylinder 89 and the airpressure cylinder I05. Upon closing the valve I M to permit the escapeof compressed air from below the piston I08 in the cylinder 606 andintroducing compressed air above that piston, it is forced to its lowestp0- sition. Pushing the air piston I08 to its extreme low position pullsthe meat cylinder piston I02 below the open end N5 of the meat cylinder39, which should be beyond the point where the collar H3 would move theswitch to the "01! position. Thereupon the entire cylinder and pistonmay be flushed out with water. It will, therefore. be seen that theentire cylinder can be readily and easily cleaned by loosening bolts 02and 93, rotating the cylinder head 90 about pivot bolt 95 and washingthe piston I04, cylinder 89 and cylinder head 96 with water.

The operation of the switch for the control of the operation of thedevice can best be understood by reference to Figure 10. A mercuryswitch Iil' is firmly afiixed to shaft H5 and pivots with the lever I M.The pivoting of this switch I" opens and closes the 110 volt circuitrepresented by wires Ill and II 9. A solenoid M0 is placed in thiscircuit and is obviously energized or deenergized as the collar II3pivots the lever Ill. The solenoid I20 opens and closes 9. normally openthree pole relay I 2| in the 220 volt circuit designated by wires I22,I23 and I24 running to the motor 24. When the material in the meatcylinder is nearly depleted the collar II 3 in its upward movementpushes the lever I, which in turn pivots the mercury switch to the "onposition, thereby energizing the solenoid to close the relay I2I andpermit current to flow to the motor 24. If meat is not removed from thecylinder as fast as it enters, the piston is pusheddown, so that thecollar H3 pivots the lever lid to its other position, the mercury switchis swung to the off position, the solenoid is deenergized. the relayreturns to its normally open position, and the motor is stopped.

A preferred form of. gear pump is shown in Figures 8 and 9. The usualgear pressure pump, which is designed for fluid materials, uses gearswith small teeth. These are not satisfactory for a viscous material suchas sausage meat as the material does not readily enter in intersticesbetween the gear teeth. It is therefore necessary to use gears withteeth of coarse pitch, which, because it is desirable to use gears thatare relatively tight fitting, raises a question of pump design. It willreadily be seen in Figure 8 that a quantity of product is ordinarilytrapped between the teeth as they intermesh. As seen in this figure, theleading flank of tooth I25 of gear 05 is contacting tooth I20 of gear66, as at I21, and the trailing flank of tooth I25 is contacting toothI23 of gear 68, as at I29. As these two gears operate with their facesin close working relationship to the machined side walls 69 and 11 ofthe pump housing, the volume of material in the space I30, defined bythe lines of contact I21 and I29, is effectively trapped. When thismaterial is a relatively non-compressible substance, the emcientoperation of the gear pump is efiectively reduced. To avoid thisdificulty. pressure relief ports I3I and I32 may be provided in the sidewalls 69 and 11, respectively, of the pump. By means of such reliefports material that is trapped in the space I30 can find its way intothe high pressure or discharge side 86 of the pump. It is self evidentthat these ports must be so located as to not break the seal between thehigh pressure side and low pressure side 68 of the pump, and on theother hand must be of a size and location as to readily permit thematerial caught in space I30 to readily flow into one or the other sidesof the pump, preferably the high pressure side 86, when the volume ofsuch space I30 is being decreased by the rotation of the gears.

As shown in Figure 8, the relief ports I3I and I32 should be somewhatlarger than the space I30 defined by the meshing teeth. Necessarily, theports should not quite reach the line I33 connecting the centers of thetwo gears, for if it did material could flow into both sides and theseal between them would be broken. Preferably the ports will be locatedon the high pressure side 86 of the pump in order to avoid returningproduct to the intake side as, although location on the other side wouldpermit more efllcient operation than in the past. Necessarily, also, theports must extend some distance into the side in which located, so as topermit a ready flow of material from the port into that side. Preferlyth ports should extend in the P rallel to the line I33 between thecenters of the two gears, somewhat beyondfthe root diameters of eachgear, and in the .other direction should extend from man said line ofcenters to well within one side of the pump, but should'not crow suchline of centers. One design of a port is shown in Figure 8 and anotherin Figure'l, which shows the port I32 in wall 11.

In the operation of the continuous saw stufler herein described, whenthe valve in vacuum line 59 is opened so that air can be admitted intothe hopper, the hinged cover 32 can be raised above the hopper i (asshown by the broken line in Figure 5). The meat truck I! is pushedbetween the arms or the truck dumper, the motor 58 is started, and .thetruck np-ended over-- I hopper I. ily removed and dumped into thehopper.

The material in the truck is then easlid 32 is then closed and the valveon the vacuum line 59 changed by the operator so that the air is drawnfrom the hopper through vacuum linemade'bypersonsskilledintheartanditisin tendedthatsuchmodiiicationsbeincluded with in'thesoopeofthisinventionasdennedinth viscous materialunder substantial and constant '"pressure,'-'which comprises subjectinga stream 59. It is desirable to remove air from sausage meat as shortlybefore stuiilng as possible in order to firmly pack the meat into itscontainers and thereby avoid air pockets in the stuifed product.

If compressed air is admitted into air pressure cylinder I06 below thepiston (normal operating condition) thepiston is pushed upwardly and thecollar 3 trips the switch H1 operated by lever lil,'the' maindrivingmotor 24 is started, and by means of the gearing shown the feedworm ll andgear pressure pump 82 are operated. The feed warm I! pushesthe ground meat into the intake opening 61 of gear pump 82 under a smalloperating pressure, such as one pound per square inch. The rotation ofthe gears I and 66 of the gear p'u'mp62 carries the groundmeat in'thespaces between the teeth to'the opposite side of the gear pump, where itis squeezed therefrom by the meshing of the teethof the two gears. soonbuilds up considerable pressure, eillciently operating at pressures ofover eighty pounds per square inch. The material'is forced from the gearpump through outlet 81 into the upper end of cylinder 89, at pressuresslightly in excess of those of the air pressure in cylinder I". Thispushes the piston I in meat cylinder ll down until the collar H3 throwsthe lever Ill to the "off" position, which stops the motor and rotationof the feed worm l1 and the gears 85 and 86 of the gear pump 62.However, the constant air pressure in air pressure cylinder I00 tends topush the piston I04 in meat cylinder 81 up to the head 80 thereof sothat meat can be effectively taken therefrom and sausage continuouslyThe continued operation of the pump of the material to a relatively lowpressure, raising the pressure on saidstream in excess of the extrudingpressure, then delivering said material to a reservoir, regulating thepressure in said reservoir to that required for extruding said material,and then extruding the same.

3. A method for the continuous stufllng of stufied by the operatorthrough nozzles 88 and 99, the flow of meat being controlled by theusual operating valves Ilill andilll.

After the worm and pump have been stopped by control switch I I1,material can be taken from the meat cylinder at any desired rate untilpiston I04 'has moved to a position where collar III moves controlswitch lever III to the "on position. At this point the motor 24 isstarted and material will againstart to flow into cylinder 89 and willcontinue to flow until the mechanism is again stopped by the controlswitch. It is obvious that should the material be taken from the meatcylinder 89 at the same rate as it is being supplied by the pump 62, thepump would operate continuously.

Manii'estly, many modifications and variations of the inventionhereinbefore set forth may be subjecting the meat in a first stage to arelatively low pressure, raising the pressure on the meat in a secondstage tow a relatively high pressure, then delivering said material to areservoir, regulating the pressure in said reservoir to stuilingpressure, and then stufling the meat into thecontainer.

4. A method for the continuous stuiiing of sausage meat and likematerial into containers, which comprises forcing the sausage meat by atleast one stageof pumping into a pressure equalizing zone, charging thesausage meat from said zone into the containers, and regulating theamount of sausage meat charged to said pressure equalizing zone by thevolume of sausage meat therein.

5. A method for the continuous stuiiing of ground meat into containers,which comprises maintaining a body of the ground meat under asubstantially constant pressure, charging said ground meat intocontainers from said body, intermittently feeding fresh ground meat intosaid body, and automatically controlling said intermittent feeding inresponse to the volume of ground meat in said body.

6. An apparatus for stufling viscous material into containers comprisingmeans for subjecting such material to a relatively low pressure, meansfor increasing the pressure thereon to a predetermined operatingpressure, means to receive said material under pressure and includingmeans for maintaining said material under a substantially uniformoperating pressure, andmeans connected to said receiving means wherebymaterial may be simultaneously delivered to and withdrawn from saidreceiving means. I

'7. An apparatus for the continuous extruding of viscous material undersubstantial and constant" pressure, which comprises means forsubv.lecting a stream of the material to a relatively low pressure,means for increasing the pressure on said stream to a relatively highpressure, said last named means including means for adjusting anduniformly maintaining the pressure on the said material and forextruding said material.

8. In a sausage stuifer means for subjecting sausage material to arelatively low pressure, said means comprising a hopper with a rotatablefeed screw therein, means for increasing the pressure to a predeterminedoperating pressure, means to receive said material under pressure andincluding reservoir means for maintaining said material under asubstantially uniform operating pressure, and outlet means connected tosaid reservoir to permit the material to be delivered to containers.

9. In a sausage stuifer comprising means for subjecting sausage materialto a relatively low pressure, pumping means for thereafter increasingthe pressure on said material to at least a predetermined operatingpressure, means to receive said material under'pressure and includingmeans for maintaining said material under a substantially uniformoperating pressure, and means connected to said receiving means wherebymaterial may be simultaneously deliveredto and withdrawn from saidreceiving means.

10. In a sausage stuifer comprising means for subjecting sausagematerial to a relatively low pressure, means for increasing the pressureon the material to a predetermined operating pressure, means to receivesaid material under pressure and including means for maintaining saidmaterial under a substantially uniform operating pressure, said meansfor maintaining said operating pressure having a cylinder, a movablepiston therein, and means for exerting pressure upon said piston.

as'raass truncated surface of said cone, a relatively large openingbetween the truncated surface of said cone and said pressure pump, meanswhereby the driving gear of said pump is attached to and driven by theaxle of the said feed screw, a cylinder connected to the outlet of saidgear pump,

11. In a device for the continuous extrusion of viscous material .undera predetermined pressure, the combination of a hopper, a rotatable feedscrew within said hopper, a pressure pump connected to said hopper atthe discharge end of said feed screw, a receiving chamber connected tothe discharge side of said pressure pump and provided with means formaintaining a predetermined pressure upon the product therein, means forextruding said material connected with said chamber, and means fordriving said feed screw and said pressure pump.

12. A machine for the continuous extrusion of viscous material under apredetermined pressure comprising a hopper, a feed screw operatingwithin said hopper and tending to force the material contained thereintoward one wall thereof, a pressure pump, the intake for which isconnected to the last mentioned wall of said hopper, a receiving chamberconnected to the discharge side of said pressure pump, which chambercontains a movable piston, means for exerting a predetermined pressureupon said piston, and an extrusion device attached to said chamber.

13. A machine for the continuous stufiing of sausage and like productscomprising a hopper, one surface of which terminates in a truncatedcone, 2'. large, long-pitch feed screw operating within said hopper andcone and tending to force the product contained therein toward the apexof said cone, a pressure pump of the gear type, the intake for saidpressure pump being connected to the truncated surface of said cone, areceiving chamber connected to the discharge side of said pressure pump,said chamber having a piston movable therein, means for exerting apredetermined pressure upon said piston, and means for operating saidfeed screw and pressure pump in response to movement of said piston.

14. A machine for the continuous stufiing of sausage and like productscomprising a hopper said cylinder being provided with a removable,dome-shaped cover provided with stufling nozzles, a piston within saidcylinder, means for exerting a predetermined pressure against saidpiston, and means for operating said screw and gear pump in response tothe movement of said piston.

15. In an apparatus for stufllng comminuted meat into containers, thecombination of a reservoir having inlet and outlet openings andincluding means for continuously maintaining a volume of the 'comminutedmeat under a. substantially constant stufllng pressure whereby it may beforced through said outlet into a suitable container, said volume beingcontinuously variable by increasing and decreasing amounts as meat isfed into and discharged from the reservoir, means operable for feedingsaid meat to said reservoir at a pressure so high as to overcome theresistance offered against the introduction of new material into thezone produced by said stufling pressure whereby to increase the volumeof meat in the reservoir while meat is being discharged from the outletand after the volume has decreased to a predetermined quantity, meansresponsive to the quantity of meat in said reservoir for automaticallyinitiating and discontinuing op eration of said feeding means, andadditional means in said outlet which are operable at all times and evenwhile the comminuted meat is being fed to the reservoir to permit thevolume of 'said meat in said reservoir to be decreased.

16. A method that may be adapted to a substantially continuous stulflngor containers with a viscous material comprising maintaining a volume ofviscous material in a zone under a substantially constant stumngpressure from where the material is permitted to intermittently escapeinto a container, said volume being variable by increasing anddecreasing amount as the material is fed into and away from the zone,intermittently feeding material to said zone at a higher than stuflingpressure to increase the volume, said feeding step being performed whilecontinuously maintaining the pressure on the material in said zone,automatically controlling said feeding step while meat is beingdischarged to initiate feeding of viscous material when the volume hasdecreased to a predetermined quantity and to discontinue feeding whenthe volume has increased to a predetermined quantity, and intermittentlycausing a portion of the material in the zone to escape into containersthereby decreasing the volume of the material in the zone.

CHARLES T. WALTER.

